“Afghanistan: What Can We Each Do?”

People in Afghanistan have faced decades of roiling devastation and war; many somehow remain persistent and determined to survive and rebuild. How can we offer solidarity from afar? I will offer personal observations and examples of how our volunteer group, Afghan Women’s Fund, works in partnerships with women and whole villages, in rural Afghanistan.

Alicia Lucksted has been involved in volunteer solidarity work with grassroots women’s groups in Afghanistan since 1998. This includes the Afghan Women’s Fund since 2000, where she is a volunteer and the Baltimore area point person for AWF’s work helping people and communities in rural Afghanistan on projects they prioritize for survival and rebuilding (www.afghanwomensfund.org) with emphasis on women’s empowerment. Alicia is an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Baltimore Ethical Society

The Baltimore Ethical Society is a humanistic religious fellowship. We focus on human lives and relationships and explore what it means to live ethically as individuals, family members, and participants in the larger community. We have no creeds and no doctrines, but we are united by our belief in the worth and dignity of each individual and our commitment to working together to create a more just, humane, and peaceful world.